Otto p



(No Model.)

0. P. 8u G. 0. ELTERICH.

SHOE. No. 503,588.

' Patented Au.g.-22, 189s.

` open.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO P. ELTERICH AND GOTTHOLD OTTO ELTERICH, OE MAYWOOD,

Y NEW JERSEY.

SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,588, dated August22, 1893.

Application led January 11, 1892. Serial No. 417,729. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that we, OTTO P. ELTERICH and GoTTHoLD OTTO ELTERICH,citizens of the United States, and residents of Maywood, in

- the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention has reference to improvements in shoes and similar footwear and has for its object to facilitate the insertion of the foot intothe shoe and also the subsequent se curing of the latter.

To this end our invention consists essentially in a shoe having anopening at the rear for the insertion of the foot combined with asection for closing said opening, all of which is more fully pointed outin the following speciiication and claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which- Figure l represents a perspective of ashoe constructed according to our invention. Eig. 2 is a similar Viewshowing the closing section Fig. 3 is a section in the plane :rw Fig. 2,drawn to a larger scale and part being broken away. i

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews.

In the drawings the letter A designates the main section of the shoe,the same having the rear of its leg portion open as at a, said openingextending preferably from j ust above the heel portion to the top of theupper. This opening is made large enough to permit the foot to bereadily inserted into the shoe while the latter is on the iioor.

B designates the closing section, made to conform to the contour ofthose portions of the foot and leg which it is intended to cover, thevertical and horizontal edges of the same overlapping the correspondingedges of the section A when the section B is closed.

As shown in the drawings the closing section B is secured to the shoepreferably by means of a band d secured at c between the heel and theheel portion ofV the upper. y However the said section could beremovably secured'to the section A in any suitable manner. When closedthe upper may be drawn tightly together above the ankle by a strap cpassing around the upper and secured by a buttonf. Y' If desired anadditional strap could be arranged below the ankle, or the section Bcould be provided with two deep iiaps adapted to encompass the upperportion of the shoe to present the appearance of gaiters or to form anornamental upper.

To prevent moisture from entering along the horizontal juncture of thetwo sections a rib or abutment is provided upon which th' said closingsection rests. Stiffeners, as h, Fig. 3, may be placed along thevertical edges of the upper to prevent the joints from opening, and tosupport the anida-the same being preferably made of whalebone, steel orsimilar material.

The lower or heel portion b of the closing section l have shownreinforced in order that the proper degree of stiffness may be given tothe said section at this part, while the remaining portion is flexibleto accommodate itself to the ankle.

We do not wish to restrict ourselves to any particular form for theopening or for the closing section, or to any particular means forsecuring the section to the upper or to the leg, as it is evident thatvarious modifications can be made in these respects without departingfrom the spirit of our invention.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A shoe having an opening at the rear of the upper leaving the heelportion intact, a closing section hinged to the main section at apointbelow said opening to swing downwardly to clear the main sectionand to leave the opening unobstructed, and means for securing theclosing section to the main section when closed, substantially asdescribed.

2. A shoe having an opening at the rear of the upper for the insertionof the foot, a closing section, a band hin ging the closing section tothe main section all constructed to permit the closing section to beswung downwardly to clear the shoe, and upwardly to close the openingand overlap its edges on all sides,

4substantiallyas described.

3. A shoe having an opening in the rear of the upper, leaving the heelportion intact, a closing section for said opening adapted to ICOoverlap the edges ofthe same, Va flexible band hinging said closingsection to the mainsection to permit; the same to be swungy Vdownwardlyto clear the shoe, and a strapv adapted to encircle. the upper legportion of the two sections to unite the same and secure the shoe,substantially as described.

4. A shoe having an opening in the rear for.; thel insertion of thefoot, a closing sectionY made to conform t'o the corresponding part of lthe foot andV to close said opening, stiifeners inserted in the verticaledges of the upper;

and a horizontal rib or bead at the heel portion upon which said closingsection rests,

substantially as described. A

i masas 5. A shoe having an opening at the rear for 4the insertion ofthe foot, a closing-'section lhinged to the main section,anda riblocated on the heel portion below the opening, upon which the closingsection rests when closed, substantially as described. l

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as Vour invention Wehavevsigned -ournames, in

